What is the Global Internship Program (GIP)?

Opportunities for students to intern or conduct research abroad over the summer

Scholarships to help make these experiences possible

A great resume-builder and a way to develop career and life skills

A way for students with busy academic-year schedules to go abroad over the summer

Why Intern or do Research Abroad?

Everyone knows that internships and research experiences are an asset to your resume and can be a great stepping stone to a career, but an international experience can really make you stand out. These experiences increase creative thinking, independence, communication skills, cross cultural competency, and the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds. Plus, work experience abroad is a valuable asset to job seekers in the increasingly global economy. An internship or research experience abroad is a life-changing opportunity that will set you apart from the rest of the applicant pool!

What are my Options?

With the GIP, you have two options to pursuing a summer experience abroad.

Intern or Conduct Research Abroad - apply to one of our pre-approved Penn placements abroad (often founded through a Penn alumnus)

Apply for Funding - if you already have an internship or research experience lined up for the summer, apply to have Penn Abroad help fund your trip

How Can I Afford To Go?

When you apply for an internship or research placement through our application, you will also have the opportunity to apply for the Global Internship Scholarship. Every student who is accepted to an internship or reseach placement through the GIP will receive a scholarship to help offset the cost of round-trip travel, living expenses, visa costs, etc. It is not meant to cover the entire internship experience.

You will also have the opportunity to apply for one of five other additional scholarships that are also funded by the University of Pennsyvlania.

GIP Scholarships are taxable. The payment of an award to a student recipient will be reported as Miscellaneous Income. For US citizen recipients, no taxes are withheld from these payments, although the University does report the payments to the IRS and the student on Form 1099-MISC. Awards made to foreign nationals will be subject to a withholding of up to 30%. Information regarding potential Income Tax Treaty Exemption from withholding for foreign nationals will be reviewed by the Tax Office prior to the award disbursement.

GIP interns receiving financial aid, but expected to contribute summer wages towards their tuition costs, may be eligible to receive a waiver for the summer contribution.

We are happy to provide the necessary documentation for the waiver application. We encourage you to speak to a financial aid counselor to talk about your own specific circumstances. For more information, visit Student Financial Services.